I expect Nigel presents choices and Nicola sees what he can do. Adkins won't point out just one player and insists he gets him. We must also remember that a lot of guff is written by the media and said by agents... some players we 'failed' to get may not even have been approached.
I reckon Nige might see a bright future for Bart. Although it's a little concerning that he wasn't even on the bench several times, and he goofed pretty badly vs Blackpool as I recall. Still, a keeper needs a decent run before you judge him, and Bart hasn't had that yet.
I understand that, just saying i'm 99% sure that we were deffo after Hooper and we spent the best part of 4 weeks trying to get him and failed, then we went for a player that we could of bought for exactly the same price with no negotiating needed on Jan 1st. Like i said it all turned out ok in the end so no harm done apart from maybe losing the title by a point, on another note i know Jos was prob our 2nd best player all season but imagine if we had got Gorkks as well Reading would have finished prob 10 points less. NC cost us the title sack the board.
Lets not forget Lee. He was keeping Sharp out of the team before he got injured. I don't think we really know yet how good he is.
Circumstances seem to keep going against Pompey (or am I just feeling sorry for myself?). In Michael Appleton we have a manager who knew the score when he arrived, has accepted that the team will need rebuilding from scratch [and almost for free] and has set himself the task of doing just that. Now the fA have put a spanner in the works and appointed Roy Hodgson to the England post and the Apple is already 3rd favourite [with skybet @ 6/1] to be his replacement at West Brom. It never rains.........
When you consider the circumstances under which he has had to work Appleton has done a very good job. If you lose him it will be a terrible blow because I don't think given Pompey's circumstances it will be easy to get a replacement of the same calibre.
What's the concrete evidence for this? From what I have read of interviews with said young Billy, he was being strongly courted before the start of last season. According to his account, he waited to see how things would work out at SMS as he clearly is ambitious and wants to play Premier League. His choice was a hard headed one based on the fact that Saints were looking more likely to get promoted than either Leicester or Hull. I have taken my time warming to him, but he had a really good game on Saturday and is showing why we bought him. I think our biggest issues are the lack of pace and need for support for Schneiderlin. Morgan seems a pretty robust sort of bloke and will do well in the Prem. However, he really would benefit from some nasty ankle biter along side him who could take away from him the need to be the ball winner and allow him to develop into the French Le Tissier. Our lack of pace on the flanks really worries me. At Middlesbrough we lacked the ability to get behind their defence enough. Guly is a class act but showed against Coventry that coming inside suits him. He is not a winger. De Ridder is exciting, but does anyone actually know where he is going when he has the ball? Ditto Tadanari Lee. As for Pompey .... Well it's all been said by the eloquent Godders. Each time they have risen up before they have seemed to emerge from a sewer still covered in the brown stuff. I hope that this time they can recover and come back in a healthy state. It may mean falling further in the short term but I look forward to playing them again in the Prem. They are our rivals. Reading , Brighton and any other Southern club matter no more to me than Man Utd or Liverpool. The club is our annoying little cousin. We love to hate them, and life would be sadder without them.
Oh come on, Devon. It could be worse, you could support .... er no you're right. You are perfectly entitled to feel sorry for your self! Being serious, without going all gooey, it is fans like you that make me so naffed off with Pompey's plight. So we've decided that Murdoch is not fit to run a paper, but who allowed the clowns into Fratton Park? When I started supporting Saints we were 3rd Div South and Pompey were Division 1. I always wanted for the teams to be in the same division, with Saints being the top team, of course. Tell you what, you go and get yourself a fan buy-out, re-build and get back to the Prem. We'll wait for you, OK?
Agree with most of Lambo. I actually think that Cork will do very well in Prem with De Ridder coming off the bench to surprise people (and himself!). Lee is still an unknown quantity. But pace is required all over the pitch.
Given that we have arrived in the Premier League 2 years ahead of schedule and therefore the much vaunted ambition to have a 50% 'homegrown' team maybe perhaps 2 years behind the achievement of the first team and that Pompey are going to be short of players with Saints having a surplus of young players needing first team experience.. natural fit versus traditional rivalry?
How do you think Saints will fare in the Premier League? No matter how red the tint is on your specs, I feel you must concede that staying up is the first goal. Looking at the sides you'll be competing against, I see no reason why you should have any less chance of starting the 2013-14 in the Premier League as sides such as Norwich, Swansea, Reading, the playoff winners and the 2 who stay up out of Blackburn, Bolton, QPR and Wigan. That's 6 sides who I think you are capable of staying above, if you get the rub of the green [that's always a necessity] and play to your potential. and Pompey. How do you think we'll fare? For a start we don't yet know if we'll have a team! Worst case scenario is that the FL AGM on 2nd June demands Pompey's administrator guarantee we can fulfill our fixtures; some-thing I don't think he can at present! So, if we have a club in League One, do you think we'll be a force? Hold our own? or slide down the plughole into league Two. I feel it's a difficult one to call at the moment as there are simply too many variables. If the you-know-what hits the fan and we end up with "AFC Pompey", what level do you think we'll be able to start at? I reckon Conference South at best, but Southern League Division One South and West would be a possibility. The only thing I could see in our favour is that the fan base [I reckon a hard core 6,000 would still turn up to watch] would be deemed too large to place us that low in the non-league pyramid. So, with this thread being (and I quote) for Pompey and Saints fans to talk about football matters without being beastly to each other I'd be interested in the honest opinions from both sets of fans on their own and each others' prospects next season.
Dev, good assessment of how Saints should fare next season. I hope the expectations of some fans are not too high and for some of those newer to supporting the club are not too critical if we go on a run of losses. As for Pompey, well the verdict is still very much open to many permutations. if you are in Div 1 and still have Appleton I think you could do ok in that division.
Well let’s hope Birch either gets a buyer in time or the Trust is able to take over. Either way time is now very tight. With Appleton saying he wants to build a good young squad I should think that like us you will spend a couple of years in League One building and developing the side and letting them mature. I should think you might make it to the Championship by 2014/15 season. With regards to the answer to the second part of your question I am not sure about the timing of this. It could be tight and if you do get placed in a lower league it is going to be interesting to see which one and all the ramifications it will cause. How the league manages that without upsetting people is going to require the judgement of Solomon. With regards to us I should think we will have about 4 or 5 new signings to complement what is a good core and I should think we can hold our own with a mid table end of season finish. My only worry is whether Nigel has the ability to tactically cope with the canny blighters who manage in the PL. If I was Cortese I would arrange in discussion with Nigel for an experienced ex PL manager to provide mentor support. Someone Nigel can chat things through with if he wants to or bounce ideas around with. Not a Director of Football or anyone with a line responsibility. Someone a bit like a mate who has done it all and seen it all and with whom you can share your problems and ideas. Gordon Strachan comes to mind.
I expect Saints to steer clear of relegation and let us enjoy a nice season...not wanting too much pressure on them. If Pompey are in League 1, I would expect a middling season but little danger of relegation. Could take a few years to get out of that legaue.
As I've said before about the blue few, I suspect personally that a Phoenix club offers the best solution all round. It rids the club of the past turmoils, it re focuses individuals onto positive things, you could be masters of your own destiny from top to toe, and you could build from the ground again. There is so much to hope for when so much is up in the air.... Good luck to all involved...
